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By Chandani Jayatilleke

Sri Lanka's first professional ship broking house, Sea Fair Shipping (Pvt) Ltd, was launched this month as a joint venture between a professional broking house, Global United Projects and Shipping Pte Ltd in Singapore and a leading ship agency company, Prudential Shipping Lines (Pte) Ltd in Colombo.

The company's aim is to offer a wide variety of maritime related services with prime focus on ship broking, ship chartering, ship agency and commercial management, its Director, Agency Marketing (Asia Pacific), Uresh Perera told the Daily News in an interview.

"We will use the expertise and strengths of both companies to make Sri Lanka an attractive shipping broking destination. We chose Colombo as the base due to two reasons: so far, Sri Lanka has not been focussed as a ship broking base and Colombo's operating costs are much cheaper than in Singapore or the middle East," he said. "What happens in the industry here is that they operate through outside broking firms. For instance, India and Singapore has two large bases of broking firms."

The company plans to tap the India and Middle East sectors in the first year of operation. "There is much potential to develop business in these two sectors. Therefore, our major plan is to tap these markets," Perera who is also the managing Director of the Singapore company said.

Referring to market potential, he said that the feasibility studies done prior to the launch of the company showed that business environment is extremely good.

What is important to the success of a ship brokering house is its contacts and an efficient communication system. "Ours' is a 24-hour on-line business and fast communication system is an essential tool in this business." However, Perera lamented that the communication system here is not as fast as the systems abroad.

Prudential Shipping Lines, Managing Director, Rohitha Mendis told the daily news that the two companies have been working together in chartering cargo in to Colombo for some time and felt that the two companies could contribute more to the industry in the form of a joint venture company.

The new company has already launched an aggressive promotional campaign on line. "We have sent out about 14,000 introductory letters to various companies and people in the global shipping industry. In return we have also received an equally good response.

Asked about business targets, Mendis said their aim is to break even or to make profits in the first year. "But, we have not yet finalised a figure as such."

"From the country's economic point of view, this is our contribution towards making Sri Lanka - the shipping hub in the region. We have been taking about a hub concept for years. Hence, our venture is to compliment this effort," Mendis said. Explaining further on the services Perera said the company will also offer ship management services including manning, technical and fleet management services, freight forwarding, warehousing and logistics, ship to ship transfers and surveys.

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